


Drinks with Assassins

by SicklyWrites



Category: Divinity: Original Sin (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, NSFW, Spoilers, eventually, on hiatus for the moment, slow burn?, third person, will change rating as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-09 20:44:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20123557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SicklyWrites/pseuds/SicklyWrites
Summary: Astrid, conjurer godwoken, found out she really likes wolves.(Spoiler warning for the game)





	1. Fort Joy

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in over a year, and feel like I haven't posted anything to this website in at least a millennia, so feel free to point out any grammar/lore/etc mistakes I make because I'm supper rusty. Please drop a kudos if you enjoy this self-indulgent stuff as I've played 50+ hours of this game in a few days, and need to pretend it's for a good reason. Hope you all are doing great <3
> 
> Also please note I'm terrible at naming things and the title may change.

Astrid walked ahead of the group, a wand on one hip and her shield gently bouncing on her back. Her arms were exposed to the hot, dry sun. The only  armour they’d found – the term ‘ armour ’ being generous – were basically just scraps of worn leather. Fort Joy, as Loshe had said, was  real rough, and she was going to have sunburned shoulders to show for it. 

The group had been together only two days now, by convenience more than anything.  Ifan had told Astrid when they first met that two heads were better than one. As it turned out, four heads were better than two as well. They’d only been awkwardly alone for an hour before they came across Loshe, and then two hours after that they’d found Beast at the shoreline grunting as he tried to pull an old ship apart. 

Astrid pondered it all, this merry band of misfits that were only together to try and get out of this prison, and figured that of all the people on this hellish island, these three weren’t the worst to have by her side. In the short time they’d been together, she’d found herself oddly fond of them. Loshe was the quickest to find friendship in. After all, the first time she ever locked eyes with her on that ship, Loshe had introduced her to a group of children as her wife – to which Astrid had obviously gone alone with. Turned out their sense of  humour was almost the same, which was a comfort in amongst a thousand different people so serious and out to kill each other. 

Beast was a strange one. Astrid hardly remembered the dwarf and the conversation they’d had on the magister ship, something about the way the sea sounded crashing against the hull. Then, when he turned around on that beach, bare-footed and sweat-stained, she remembered and breathed a sigh of both relief and apprehension. This guy. Kind of self-absorbed, but strong enough to back it up so that she didn’t mind all too much. 

Then  Ifan . Astrid had never been so immediately intrigued by a person in her life. Something about his voice and tone just commanded her attention, and although she thought that would change over time, it hadn’t. Every time he spoke it sounded so important, but then he’d do something sweet to throw her off. He’d spoken to a magister along the edge of the fort walls, something to do with his Lone Wolf contract. That alone intimidated her. She off-handedly mentioned how scary he must have been for the poor young magister.  Ifan stood close to her, nearly nose-to-nose, and said in that low, commanding tone: “Like this?” 

Astrid’s whole body lit up like a flare, her heart jumping up into her throat and every vein running hot and alight. Then  Ifan smiled, tapped her on the nose with his index finger and chuckled, moving along completely unaware of how he sounded to her. It took a while to cool off after that. It felt like she’d been lit up like a match that burned quick and bright, then  smouldered . 

The three of them walked behind her along the beach, trying to find somewhere shady and at least semi-concealed to camp for the night.  Ifan had made the suggestion that perhaps they didn’t sleep in the main fort, or else have everything stolen. (Like an organ or something, Loshe had said.) 

On the northern beaches, only a stroll from where Astrid had washed up a few days prior, they settled. Nestled against a wall of rocks, they set a campfire of driftwood up and laid out bedrolls in the sand. This was now the third time they’d done this, but each time they had more to their names than the last. Astrid had found a shield that was more than just some planks of wood nailed together, Beast had a  greatsword that wasn’t halved, and Loshe had pinched a decent staff from a dead magister half buried and decaying in the sand. Fort Joy – what a place. 

* * *

  
Beast sat up on his bedroll running a whetstone over his sword while Loshe sat a meter from him, book awkwardly held in one hand while the other kept a magical flame alight in her palm. Astrid watched them idly, picking the pastry off a stale pie.    


“Why don’t you light a torch and stick it in the ground next to you?” she asked. Loshe looked up from where she lied, every few minutes switching into a different position to try and get comfortable. She smirked. 

“Genius, you are.” 

Ifan stifled a small chuckle from his bedroll across the fire, back to the ocean. He was half way through an apple, surprisingly fresh. 

“Did anyone manage to swipe a drink at any point?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. For a second Astrid wondered if he was sore, before she set down her food and pulled the orange-tinted bottle out of her pack with a proud smile.  Ifan looked at her as if she were a goddess of mercy, opening up his hand to her. 

“Spiced rum,” she announced. 

“Miracles do happen,” he said, Astrid uncorking the bottle and passing it to him. Beast looked up from his sword. 

“Well right you are, Wolf,” he said.  Ifan took a hearty sip – indulgent but not selfish – and passed it on to Beast, wiping his moustache with the back of his hand. He grunted, satisfied. 

“Where’d you get that?” he asked, arching an eyebrow Astrid’s way. 

“I’m not one for stealing most of the time, but that trader with the bad attitude deserved it,” Astrid smirked.  Ifan smiled and nodded, knowing exactly which trader she was talking about. 

Loshe took the next swig after Beast. Not a big one, but enough to make her face screw up. 

“Here’s to that,” she said, lifting the bottle in a quick cheer before handing it to Astrid. 

“To stealing alcohol from the old and bitter,” Astrid said, raising the bottle as well before going bottoms up in a long guzzle.  Ifan’s eyebrows raised, which Astrid only noticed as she put the bottle down and wiped her own face. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said – not really ashamed in the slightest, more intimidated by him so much that she felt the need to say something. He chuckled. 

“Woman after my own heart.”

* * *

Loshe rolled over on her bedroll towards where Astrid was already sitting up. She flinched as she opened her eyes, and on Astrid’s lap was her incarnate – a devilish, spiny little thing constantly jittering under her stroking hand. It was morning, and knowing that thing was around, Loshe might not have slept as well.

“Morning, Loshe,” Astrid said with a tired half-smile. The incarnate turned on her lap towards Loshe and let out a little hiss.

“What even  _ is  _ that thing,” she asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s useful, but it’s... bloody creepy.”

Astrid put a finger to each cheek of the little monster.

“Don’t listen to her, you’re adorable,” Astrid said, rubbing her fingers around on what she thought was a ‘cute little face.’

Across from them, Beast was still snoring. To Astrid’s right,  Ifan propped himself up on an elbow, shirtless underneath a thin blanket.

“I think he’s cute,” he said. The word ‘cute’ sounded almost foreign coming from him. “Once this source collar’s off, you’ll be able to meet  Af rit .”

Astrid went back to scratching her  incarnate’s spiked head.

“ Afrit ?”

“Yeah, my wolf.”

Loshe scoffed.

“The Lone Wolf has a wolf?”

Ifan stretched one arm over and rubbed the back of his neck. Even from across the fire Astrid still heard a few bones pop while he yawned.

“Unbelievable, I know.”

“I still think it’s funny that there’s a  _ group _ called the  _ Lone _ Wolves. Obviously not so lonesome.” Astrid smirked.  Ifan nodded thoughtfully, amused by that. He'd never thought of it that way before, she supposed.

“Speaking of getting these collars off, we better get moving,” he said. The sun had well and truly risen, the sand slowly becoming warmer under their skin.  Ifan rolled the blanket off of him, slipping out in nothing but a pair of thin trousers. Astrid, for just a moment, was distracted by that. There was not a lot of material between her eyes and  _ everything else. _

He stretched again, hand on his lower back, and excused himself for a moment, to have a short walk down the beach and relieve himself.

Loshe rolled closer to Astrid and tapped her on the shoulder while she was off watching  Ifan leave.

“Can I ask you something?” she smiled.

Astrid looked down at her, arms crossed underneath her chest, legs up and swaying behind her. She looked child-like.

“Yes?”

“You have a thing for him?”

Astrid screwed up her face.

“What?”

“The Wolf. Ifan. The assassin,” Loshe continued, her smile broadening with every word. “I see the way you look at him.”

Astrid shook her head and grabbed for her  armour .

“I’m just watching, I don’t know if I trust him yet.”

Loshe tilted her head up at her.

“You don’t look at  _ me  _ like that,” she said. “I’ve never seen you lurk around Beast to make sure  _ he’s _ not shifty.”

Astrid avoided eye contact except for a stern moment. In her lap, the incarnate disappeared in a swirl of light.

“Like you said, he’s the assassin, I  _ should _ be watching him. Beast is only a sailor and you’re a—”

“I’m a  possessed demon-witch-lady with someone creeping around in my head.”

Astrid’s lips pressed together as she let out a defeated breath.

“I don’t judge you,” she said, punching Astrid in the shoulder playfully and standing up, “but don’t go thinking you can slip things like that past me.”

“I’m not slipping anything past you,” Astrid assured. “Now wake up Beast, we better get a move on.”

Loshe turned to her with a freckled, knowing smile.

“Aye-aye, captain.”


	2. Sanctuary

Out from the dungeons underneath Fort Joy,  Astrid walked slightly ahead of the group dusting dirt from her thighs.  They were finally out, thanks to a little blonde-haired boy named Han. He’d told them of an encampment out  eastward,  and the first thought running through Astrid’s mind was whether they had food and real beds there.

Her whole body ached from days of almost non stop action, and she wanted nothing more than to  curl up in a thick blanket and go into hibernation . Now they were out of Fort Joy, a relief had washed over her, and the tiredness had set in more.

“We best get a move on for this sanctuary,” Beast piped up as  he stretched his legs. “See if they’ve got a drink lined up for us.”

Ifan let out a chuckle.

“I’d wager  they’re scraping by like the rest of us, but yeah... a drink would be great.”

Loshe sighed . “As long as we’re out of the Fort, for now I’m happy.”

* * *

It was midday as they ventured across the island towards where Han had marked their map for the sanctuary of Amadia. Astrid hadn’t heard that name before – she never was one for history or the lore regarding the gods. She was a farmer originally, so the most she knew about history was how good her family’s harvests were in the past years. That life, however, seemed  centuries  ago, too far behind her to see.

As she was thinking of home, Loshe humming an upbeat tune behind her,  when  she heard a thud where an arrow had shot into the ground beside her. She lifted her eyes to an undead standing on a wooden platform above them, just as a second arrow came whirling towards her.

She  swung her shield  in front of her, catching the arrow just in time. Behind her,  Ifan drew his crossbow and moved ahead ready to aim ; Beast charged forward,  greataxe in hand , and  Loshe took her staff, one hand glowing with the beginnings of a spell.

She brought down three spears of frost down from the sky onto a second skeletal figure that had come running out of the forest.

“Bloody undead , ” she growled, “ruining a peaceful walk!”

Ifan shot at it,  barely alive under the frost that had overcome it, and watched as it’s bones split apart and fell to the wet ground. From behind it, two more appeared, swords in hand.

Beast charged for them, knocking one down into the grass and slashing at the second – but Astrid had it out for the archer above them all,  nocking another arrow.

Astrid, shield in front of her, raised her wand and spawned her incarnate on the platform beside the archer, smirking proudly as her little monster growled. It immediately leapt into the archer, clawing at the thing with those vicious little claws.

Loshe visibly cringed at the thing as she charged another spell.

One of the undead charged for  Ifan , who had sidestepped his way into  a flanking position. Astrid scowled, striking it with  crackling black lightning as it ran. Below it, a surface of ice  formed under it’s feet, which slid out from under it as it came toppling forward.

Ifan glanced at Astrid after ending the undead with a crossbow bolt to the head, giving her a wicked 'thank you' smile. Astrid, caught by those eyes across the battlefield, didn’t notice an arrow  shooting straight for her unguarded hip.

It shot through her side, blood beginning to gush underneath what little armour she wore.  She grunted in pain, holding her shield over herself and shooting off a bolt of fire in the archer’s direction. It hit, sending it’s burning bones flying backwards into the trees , the incarnate scurrying for the next target.

Beast and Loshe finished the final two undead, one with a blast of lightning and the other with a swift swipe of an axe across the face. Only once all the bones had fallen lifelessly into the grass did Loshe and Beast notice  Ifan rushing towards Astrid, who hunched down on one knee,  wand now lowered as she held a hand to the arrow poking out of her hip.

“Astrid – are you alright?”  Ifan asked in a rush, holding her upright.

She nodded although clearly the pain was written all over her face.

“I’m good – I’m good.”

Loshe and Beast approached,  Loshe a little faster and more  purposefully . Ifan knelt by the injury and eyed the wound.

“You will be fine,” he said, “but we’re not getting to  the sanctuary today.  Amadia can wait. ”

“We’ll set up  camp then,” Beast announced , turning immediately onto the task at hand.

Ifan nodded as the others scouted for a place to rest.  Kneeling beside her, h e looked up at Astrid, her eyes watering. She felt locked into place as soon as their eyes met, that commanding voice had her all over again.

“We’ll get this arrow out and stitch you up,” he nodded. Astrid smiled shakily. Where her hand grasped onto her hip, blood was starting to seep between her fingers and down her skin.

“ I didn’t know you were a doctor, ” she said in jest.

Ifan huffed a laugh.

“I know enough first aid to get you sewn up. It’ll hurt though, I won’t lie.”

Astrid nodded in return. “I trust you. ”

* * *

Reaching the sanctuary was tough, but eventually, as night fell, they’d found the cliff face Han had told them about, a lizard woman standing at the top ready to attack before they’d explained themselves. With enough help, they’d gotten to the top and into the encampment. Loshe was kicking herself, arms crossed by the tents set up for the injured, pacing around restlessly. She kept muttering that she wished she knew some restoration magic – then this would never have happened. Beast kept her quiet -  _ “Don’t worry girl, we’ll get you some books later.” _

With an arm around  Ifan’s shoulders, his arm around her waist, he helped her to a bedroll set up with the rest of the injured. The atmosphere in the area was miserable, it seemed everyone had lost hope – a stark comparison to how Astrid hoped it was.

She lied down on the bedroll with a grunt. The arrowhead was still lodged in her hip. By the lanternlight she prodded it and hissed in pain.  Ifan returned to her with some  equipment in his hand.

“What are you touching it for?” he said, kneeling beside her and coming just short of slapping her hand away. She looked up at him, eyes watering again, a pained smile on her face.

“It’s like poking a bruise.”

He chuckled, and sat beside her.

“Look, I’m going to get the arrowhead out and stitch you up, and it’s going to hurt.”

Astrid nodded, looking at the metal tongs in his hand she could only assume would rip the foreign object out of her flesh. Her eyes were trained on it as it came towards her,  Ifan pulling down the very rim of her trousers to expose the wound. It had fully stained the fabric around it, blood now dried on her skin. As soon as it was touched, fresh blood drained from the wound and onto  Ifan’s fingers.

His nose crinkled, not in disgust but in annoyance at how deep the arrow had lodged. Astrid only watched, tension plain on her face.

“Alright,”  Ifan muttered, trying to slip the tongs into the wound without touching too much. Astrid lied  down, her head rolled back in pain as he struggled for a moment before pulling it out. He gave it a look over before tossing it, lying the bloodied tongs down beside him and finding the needle he’d been provided by the sanctuary’s medic.

“You’re doing well,” he said, and he meant it. He expected more than her biting her lip, and was impressed when she didn’t scream.  Peircing fresh holes into her skin, however, might go down differently. He wiped away as much blood as he could with a wet rag and made the first incision in an effort to close the wound.

Her body tensed.  Ifan could feel the muscles of her leg growing tight and defensive underneath his touch. He rubbed her arm instinctively. She seemed to relax at that, opening her eyes to look at him. He could only smile slightly.

“Think of the scar you’ll have,” he said. She laughed and then recoiled at the pain it caused her.

“Sorry,”  Ifan said, giving her arm another squeeze and continuing to stitch her. Eventually, with enough struggling, he was happy with the way it’d come out. He wiped the fresh blood away from her hip, running his hand along the rim of the waist of her pants and getting the last few drops. After covering it up with a bandage, he was confident she would be fine, and assured her of it.

She lied there, drenched with sweat, before sitting up and grabbing him by the shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said. “Maybe in my learnings about how to summon devils, I should have worked out how to heal myself.”

He laughed.

“You’ll be alright, lass.”

* * *

The next few hours went slowly, Astrid lying on her uninjured side and watching  Ifan go from person to person trying to heal their wounds the best he could. He sat by the side of a dwarven man, cleaning his wounds and making him comfortable, all the while having a relaxed conversation about their experiences in battle. Astrid hadn't really been listening, instead just watching  Ifan smile and talk and be  _ kind. _

Loshe was sat on the other side of her, reading a book on restoration magic, while Beast downed some ale by a campfire, talking to Han, the kid that had helped them, and the lizard woman that seemed always by his side.

Ifan gave his dwarven patient a friendly slap on the shoulder, and Astrid couldn’t help it. A small smile cracked on her face, which she had long since forgotten about trying to keep uninterested in fear he might notice her staring. Just as she smiled, they made eye contact, Ifan looking at her from across the dimly lit hospital area. She caught him for a moment before hurriedly pretending she was looking at something else; although the only thing behind him was cloth rooves and the night sky.

After a few minutes of getting the dwarf set up for the night, he sauntered over.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice low and gruff. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak, but fell short of anything actually coming out for a moment.

“I--uh--I’m fine. Really. Thank you for asking.”

Ifan smiled and pulled a waterskin from his pack, passing it to her.

“You know, I might be an archer but I could teach you a thing or two about how to hold that  shield .”

She smiled. “What makes you think I don’t know how to use one just fine already?”

He eyed the wound in her hip from the arrow. He needn’t say a word.

“Fine, master Ifan, you can teach me your ways,” she joked. In truth, she looked forward to it.

“What’s your background with combat training, anyway?”

She looked slightly shameful when she answered. “I killed a centipede with a hoe once?”

Ifan laughed and relaxed down to sit next to her, hanging one arm over his knee.

“You were a farmer?”

“Or maybe I was just an incredible bug-fighter with expertise in farming equipment,” Astrid grinned. Ifan shook his head.

“I’ll teach you how to  _ actually _ use that shield tomorrow. Now get some rest. The way Loshe’s going, I’m sure she’ll be able to magically stitch you up by morning.”

Astrid nodded, “I don’t doubt it. I think she feels terrible.”

“I don’t doubt it. But you’re a tough one,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder before getting up to find his own bed. She gave him a little wave as he left, which he returned with a smile. She sighed as he left her sight. Admittedly, she hoped he’d stayed longer for them to just talk. She wanted to know more about him – more about his past and how  _ he _ grew up. Anything to explain the enigma that he was.

She nuzzled into her pillow made of burlap and straw and tried to relax. At least he’d given her something to look forward to.


End file.
